Tupac’s family hid his final secret for decades. Now one man in a small southern town has let it slip

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I still can’t believe it, but that utility pole… right there at a busy Vegas intersection? That was it. That was all we had. It sounds crazy, I know, but for millions of us who worshipped Pac, that plain gray concrete pillar was our place to connect with him, to feel closer. It wasn’t much, but it was everything.

I’ll never forget September 7, 1996. That’s the day everything changed. He was shot, and even though they rushed him to the hospital, he sadly passed away six days later. He was only 25 years old, and it still feels unreal.

The public was told his mother, Afeni, had him cremated and that there would be no funeral or permanent memorial. However, that wasn’t the complete truth.

Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur died, it’s now confirmed that he was actually buried, and a grave exists – though its location has been mostly hidden from the public.

Jeff Pearlman, author of the new Tupac Shakur biography Only God Can Judge Me, said he’s not sure why the location was kept secret. He believes someone simply decided to keep it quiet, possibly out of respect for Tupac.

Okay, so I’ve been completely obsessed with this for three years, researching everything I could for this book. And honestly? Finding that grave… it was the biggest thing, the one thing that just blew my mind after talking to nearly 700 people! It felt like everything clicked into place, you know? It was incredible.

He traveled to Lumberton, North Carolina, a small town with a population of around 20,000 located about 100 miles south of Raleigh, because he was researching the birthplace of Tupac’s mother.

He believed he understood what happened to Tupac’s remains. Some of his ashes were scattered in Los Angeles and near his stepmother’s home in Georgia, while some were taken to Soweto, South Africa. According to his stepbrother, Mopreme, a portion of the ashes were even mixed with marijuana and smoked by friends.

In his memoir, Mopreme explained that they felt a connection to Tupac by being near his belongings. Tupac had repeatedly told them he wanted them to smoke his ashes after he died, saying, ‘Smoke my ashes and get high.’ He emphasized this wish often, making it clear it was something he truly wanted.

Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records who was with Tupac when he died, recently explained their thinking at the time. He said it all made sense, it was a meaningful gesture, and felt like a way to hold onto a piece of the rapper.

I was actually relieved to be on probation because it meant I couldn’t smoke. I explained to his mother that I really wanted to, but if I did, I’d get into trouble. Looking back, I think I was the only one who managed to resist.

Four years after Tupac passed away in 2000, his mother, Afeni Shakur, purchased 56 acres of land near Lumberton. She built a large house on the property, hidden from view at the end of a long driveway and behind gated access.

She settled in the area in 2002 and married a local minister, Gust Davis, in 2004. However, their marriage ended by March 2016, and Afeni moved to California, choosing to live on a houseboat in Sausalito.

She died in May 2016, at the age of 69, and the Lumberton home has remained empty ever since.

Pearlman was talking to Tupac’s cousin, Dante Powers, in Lumberton when Powers mentioned he looks after the house. Powers offered Pearlman a chance to tour the property, asking if she wanted to join him while letting a repair person inside.

He allowed me to wander through the house. It was mostly empty, with only boxes containing her belongings. Then he asked if I wanted to see where Tupac was buried – if I wanted to see his grave.

I can’t recall exactly what I said, but I remember thinking, ‘I honestly don’t understand what you’re talking about.’ I knew he had already been cremated and his ashes scattered, so his words didn’t make sense to me.

‘And he said, “No, no, no, his mom buried some of his ashes on the property.”‘

Pearlman recalled walking to the front of the house where someone showed her the headstone. It was buried beneath leaves and almost lost in the tall, overgrown grass.

He described discovering the grave as an incredibly moving experience. He also told Powers he’d be disappointed if the property was sold to someone who didn’t recognize the historical significance of what’s located on the grounds.

Powers said he hopes that if the property is sold, whoever buys it will move the body from there and bury it somewhere else.

It’s hard to believe this is where one of the greatest rappers ever is buried. Despite only recording music for five years, he sold an incredible 75 million records around the world – far more than artists like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

Unlike the famous landmarks built around the graves of Elvis Presley (Graceland) and Prince (Paisley Park), the location of his final resting place remains unknown. Why hasn’t his grave become a popular destination for fans, like Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris or Jimi Hendrix’s memorial in Seattle?

Pearlman believes Lumberton’s isolated location played a role, and also suggests the family likely wanted to avoid causing a disturbance.

Tupac is survived by a few family members, including his 76-year-old father, Billy Garland, who wasn’t very involved in his life. He also leaves behind his half-sister, Sekyiwa, age 50, and his stepbrother, Mopreme, 58, both sons of his mother Afeni Shakur’s second husband, Mutulu Shakur.

When Tupac’s family allowed his childhood friend, Staci Robinson, to write his official biography in 2023, they didn’t discuss his burial site at all.

Tom Whalley, who originally signed Tupac Shakur to Interscope Records in 1991, currently manages the estate. In January 2022, Tupac’s half-sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, who heads the Tupac Shakur Foundation, filed a lawsuit against Whalley, claiming he mishandled the estate’s finances. Whalley denied these claims, calling them unfounded and harmful to those who benefit from the trust. Howard King, Whalley’s lawyer, declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail.

Wrangling over the New York-born musician’s death is continuing, too.

The trial of Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with Tupac Shakur’s murder, is set to begin next year. Prosecutors allege Davis arranged the shooting, motivated by a prior altercation where Tupac had punched his nephew, Orlando Anderson. Tragically, everyone involved in the shooting has since died: Anderson was killed in 1998, another passenger, DeAndre Smith, in 2004, and the driver, Terrence Brown, in 2015.

Davis has pleaded not guilty and claims he was in Los Angeles on the night of the murder.

You know, even though the circumstances surrounding the rapper’s death were really sad, and the place where he was laid to rest wasn’t much to look at, I still found visiting incredibly touching. It really stayed with me.

He described the discovery as a complete surprise. Just seeing it there, he said, felt like a special moment.

‘I’m not very spiritual, but it did feel like a spiritual moment.’

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2025-11-08 04:22